Baby, There's No Harming You
by TashM
Summary: Set very shortly after the Avengers, Thor has his brother's best interests at heart when he asks Tony Stark to look after the powerless, banished god.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: this is the first fic I've written so hopefully anyone who reads it will enjoy it, feedback would be greatly appreciated! :) I'm planning on continuing it if anyone has any interest/for my own enjoyment haha. Anyway, I really hope you like it and any comments would be awesome!**

Tony sat alone on the roof of Stark Tower, he'd never been one for sentimentality but he liked to come up there to think without his hands being busy down in the basement. Nothing in particular was going through his mind as he downed the last of the small glass of scotch he'd bought up with him, the familiar warm burn running down his throat, comforting him. Although the rest of the Avengers lived at Stark Tower they'd all taken some short, well deserved "personal time" after their showdown with the God of Mischief, Loki, and his space minions. Tony scoffed and smiled to himself as he thought back to their encounter; he wondered what would've been different if the demigod had accepted his offer for a drink rather than tossing him out a window. He was an interesting character that Loki and sassy too, he recalled some of the God's snide comments with a smirk before ambling across the rooftop to the elevator and making his way back down to "his" level of the building. Even though the rest of the team got on his nerves on occasion, he almost missed the sounds of their antics giving the building life but instead had to make do with the soft glow emanating from the arc reactor in his chest for company. It was a rare moment for Tony Stark to crave the company of the others.

Loki shot a murderous glare at the back of the blonde haired god leading him into Asgard. He knew he was going to be punished, and severely, when he was brought before the All-father. He was led to one of the great halls, empty except for the glowering God and his wife seated at the end of the huge room. Loki's long legs buckled underneath him as he felt the strong boot of a guard collide with the back of his knees as he was forced to kneel before the king of Asgard. Thor turned defensively towards the man who'd beaten his brother and began to raise Mjolnir before his father rose to intervene.

"That's enough, Thor! Leave him be" while scolding his eldest son, he looked at the man who'd kicked his other son and pointed menacingly towards the door at the other end of the hall. The guard shot a dirty look towards Loki on the floor before quickly scuttling out of the room and the All-father's attention returned to his dishonoured son kneeling before him. Loki's face was covered in cuts, his hair was dishevelled and his eyes looked as though they were about to start tearing up as he furrowed his brow and looked up at the All-father. Frigga looked down on her youngest son, disappointment and hurt plastered over her face.

"Loki…Odinson" the king heard an incoherent mumble from the man knelt before him but chose to ignore it.

"For your heinous and destructive acts against the people of Midgard and Jotunheim, I hear-by banish you from Asgard and strip you of your powers just as your brother" – another incoherent mumble – "was forced to endure for his reckless acts. You may return to Asgard in time but until you truly reclaim your humanity I will not have your dishonour present in the House of Odin. You are lucky to be leaving here with your life." Loki tried to plea with the All-father but the guard around his mouth tightened its vicelike grip and the taste of blood soon filled his mouth as he continued his futile attempts to bargain his sentence. "Leave, son" Loki knew this was directed at Thor but he caught Odin's eyes on him just as he finished addressing Thor and a sour taste filled his mouth as he tried to glare at the aging king standing before him. Thor's gentle but firm hand wrapped around Loki's forearm as he was lifted from the floor and marched from the hall.

Tony was over his moping and decided to throw himself a party. Literally. Black Sabbath was blasting through his floor of the building as he paraded around in one of his favourite Black Sabbath t-shirts playing air guitar in his favourite parts of each song and drumming on his not-so-imaginary counter tops while bellowing lyrics as loud as he could; suffice to say he'd entertained himself.

"Man of Iron?" Tony wheeled around, shrieking as he did so and quickly covering his mouth out of sheer embarrassment.

"What? Don't they teach you to knock in Asgard?" Tony said, still in shock from Thor's unexpected entry.

"I knocked down one of your glass walls if that's what you meant?" Tony's hand slowly came up to his face. "Don't worry about the window, big fella" he laughed into the hand covering his mouth as the genuinely confused Thor looked at him before deciding to dismiss the entire conversation with a puzzled shake of his head.

"Well? You didn't just bust the window to come say hey, what's up?" Tony lent closer to the god over the counter, using his elbows and forearms for support. Thor looked at him sternly and seemed to be thinking over the words about to come out of his mouth.

"I have a favour of you, Stark" his eyes met Tony's as his gaze moved up from the floor "my brother Loki has been punished. He's been stripped of his powers and has returned to Midgard to live as a mortal for some time" Tony nodded his head as Thor continued "I'm asking…since the others will be away for a few weeks at least, will you look after my brother?" Tony stopped nodding.

"Thor, buddy, you remember he tried to kill us right? Threw me out a window, remember? Even after I was polite enough to offer him a drink" Tony rolled his eyes "why?"

"I have trust in you to do the right thing, Stark. My brother is weak and vulnerable without his magical defences. He'll be no bother" Thor wasn't so sure about the last part but he had to try and persuade Tony for the sake of Loki's safety.

Tony sighed and plonked his head onto the counter he'd been leaning on.

"Fine. But you owe me big time after this one" he raised an eyebrow and pointed at Thor who turned and flashed Tony a grin as he made his way towards the (thankfully open) balcony door and left to return to his godly duties, wherever that might be. Tony just shook his head and remained standing where he'd been before he'd been rudely interrupted by the god.

"Alright, reindeer games, come out come out wherever you are" Loki must've arrived with Thor, Tony couldn't exactly imagine him being chauffeured in and making a relatively normal entrance. The other man entered the open plan living area from the balcony. He was still in his Asgardian battle attire but stood without his helmet. His clothes were dirty and torn, his face and exposed skin showing light scarring from battle wounds that had healed astoundingly quickly.

"What? No apology? Just going to stand there all day, huh?" Loki stood and continued to maintain eye contact with Tony "alright fine then, might as well lay down some basic rules. Don't touch my stuff, don't eat my food and don't leave this floor. Other than that, I'm sure we can maintain some form of coexistence. Peaceful or not, well that's up to you but if you're planning on making this difficult for me, I'm sure I can find some people willing to take a crack at you in your, uh, current state" Tony clapped his hands together "right! Since that went so well I'll show you your room and that's good night from me" pointing to a door leading off from the lounge area Tony gestured for Loki to go "go on, you can sleep in there. I don't have to show you, you're a big boy."

Loki glared at Tony before moving to the chambers assigned to him, he wasn't willing to risk his protection in Stark Tower with a rude flippant comment to the other man. He shut the door as soon as he could and leant his back against the cold surface of the door, sliding down the smooth exterior until his was sitting on the floor with his head on his knees. He clenched his fists with rage, fingernails digging into the palms of his hands until they cut the skin and started bleeding. Even without his powers, he was still strong enough to inflict a serious amount of damage on anyone if needed. Loki didn't feel ill or tired as he'd expected but there was a gnawing feeling coming from his stomach. He was ravenous. He stood up, preparing for the conversation he was going to be forced to endure with Tony Stark. Opening the door, Loki ignored the bloody smears he was leaving along the polished surface and walked back into the lounge.

"Stark. I require Midgardian delicacies, my stomach is making noises I'm unfamiliar with and I believe they mean to imply a need for sustenance" Loki said as plainly as he could to the man who was looking at him in total bewilderment. Tony struggled to contain his laughter as he went to respond to the dark haired man in his lounge.

"Yeah sure thing, Rudolf. How's pizza sound?" Tony's eyes wondered to Loki's hands "and why the hell are you bleeding?" he shrugged and turned around before Loki could object.

"JARVIS, order us some pizza, the usual"

"On its way, sir." Tony turned back to the god standing on the other side of the room "magic, huh? I bet you can't order pizza with yours. Oops. I mean couldn't" Loki had been trying to locate the source of this "JARVIS" Stark had addressed before he turned back to Tony.

"No, I couldn't order this…pizza you call it. However, I could have that and more at a mere thought. Call it wishful thinking" Loki wasn't in the mood for Stark's banter and let his intended offensive comment slide. All he wanted right now was to satisfy the growing pain in his stomach, begging him to consume food. He moved his hands over his belly as cramps began to tear at his insides, he couldn't remember the last time he ate or the last time he'd even felt hungry. Tony was taking note of all the movements the taller man was making, he didn't doubt Thor when he said Loki had been stripped of his powers but he was still wary of the ex-homicidal maniac making any sudden movements and he was clearly in pain.

"Come here a sec" Tony beckoned Loki over with his hands but the god wasn't having a bar of it "I'm not going to hurt you alright? I just want to take a look at your hands, fix them up a bit. You're dripping blood on the carpet and I really don't want to have to explain that one" Loki slowly moved over to where Tony was still standing at the counter and held out his hands for inspection.

"Geez, really did a doozy on that one huh? Just wash them and you'll be right" Tony let go of Loki's hands and let them drop gracelessly to the counter. He didn't like how concerned he'd felt about the other man's wounds, not to mention how he'd felt when he first saw him again.

Tony threw the box of pizza on the counter and flipped open the lid as the smell of it began to saturate the air in the room.

"Go for it, princess! You're the hungry one" Tony took a slice out of the huge pizza in front of him and chucked it at Loki who barely caught it before it hit his leathery clothing. He lifted it up to his nose and smelt it closely before giving it a closer look and finally taking a bite. "Doth thou satisfy your highness?"

Loki stopped chewing and swallowed "as a matter of fact Stark, it is quite pleasing." He still refused to indulge Tony's prods with a reaction anyway; he couldn't chuck an adequate tantrum without his powers to back him up. Loki's attention turned back to eating the remainder of the pizza which if he'd held any less of his usual elegant movement would've been a horrifying sight as each slice was inhaled by the god.

"You weren't lying about the hungry thing" Tony couldn't do anything but stare at the empty pizza box in front of him.

"No but you would be none the wiser if I was" Loki grinned at him "I am the God of lies after all"

Tony rolled his eyes "yeah, yeah and fire and mischief. Add pretentiousness to the list while you're at it."

"I still don't see you being named the god of anything, Stark. I'll be retiring to my chambers; this outfit is most difficult to remove by hand." Loki turned to walk back to his room and Tony opened his mouth before he had time to think

"Need a hand?" Tony looked equally as shocked at what had come out of his mouth as Loki did when he turned around, still trying to gauge whether the man of iron was mocking him or genuinely offering him a favour.

"If you meant that in sincerity, Stark, it'd be greatly appreciated." Loki still looked slightly puzzled but he was smiling just enough to show some teeth. Tony couldn't take it back now, anyway, there was nothing wrong with offering him some help, he'd do it for any of his other friends…Friends. Now when did that credential become irrelevant? There was nothing wrong with one attractive male helping another attractive male undress. Good enough.

Loki was facing the window, the moonlight and city lights making his pale face stand out against his black hair as he undid the strap across his chest and shoulder, letting it swing freely as Tony held his coat by the collar and slid it off his back, draping it over a nearby chair. Tony undid the next robe layer from the side of Loki's chest and carefully lifted it off his shoulders as Loki bought his arms through, careful to avoid the dark bruising which hadn't healed in his human form. Loki turned around to face Tony; they were close with less than half a foot between their bodies but Loki stepped back, undoing the black and gold guards from his forearms as the shorter man observed him. Tony wanted to touch him, to run his hands over his body and through his hair. Loki stepped forward again, they were intimately close and Tony was quickly becoming overwhelmed by the thought of undressing the rest of Loki, revealing the white skin covering the god's muscular form beneath. Though two layers of clothing had already been removed, he was still clad head to toe in his black and green clothing and Loki's eyes surveyed the man in front of him as Tony's mind continued to wonder further and further from simply helping him undress. Loki's eyes had stopped moving as he stared at something. Tony cocked an eye brow and lowered his own eyes as he attempted to see what had the god so transfixed and…amused? Why was he smiling?

"Oh god…" Tony hadn't even noticed.

"Yes?" Loki raised his eyes again until they were level with Tony's once more.

"No not you, uh, um, I should, uh, go? Yeah I'm gonna go" he'd forgotten he was wearing track suit pants made of hardly the most discrete material and a barely visible pink flush slowly began to creep up Tony's neck as his hands moved to cover his crotch. Loki lent closer, his breath lightly crossing Tony's ear. He really wasn't helping the situation.

"If that's what you wish, Stark" Tony could hear the grin in Loki's teasing voice as he clenched his jaw, he was trying to think about his response but his hands were already pressed into the chest in front of him, the thin remaining layer keeping them from the moon white skin below.

"No…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Just a word of warning: if you're not into the whole FrostIron smut thing I highly recommend turning away now. If so, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it and feedback will always be greatly appreciated! :)**

Loki drew his face away from near Stark's ear, running his smooth cheek along the stubbled jawline of the shorter man. Tony looked into his kaleidoscope eyes, now a light shade of blue; he could've sworn they were green before and pushed his hands further into Loki's chest, gripping and pulling at the final item of clothing covering the handsome chest beneath. Though he was thin, Tony could easily trace the outline of the god's abdominal muscles as his fingers moved to untuck the man's shirt from his lightly armoured leather pants. His fingers made their way under the hem of the shirt and Tony pushed at it with his fingers, pressing his palms into Loki's stomach and chest as he raised it further off the man before Loki's own hands reached for the bottom and he quickly tore it from his body, casting it aside. Loki grinned as he watched the other man take in his built figure; Tony might as well have been drooling.

"Loki…you're…look at you. You're…gorgeous" Tony knew better than to inflate the god's already inflamed ego except he couldn't help but admire the seemingly sculpted man standing in front of him, his dark hair caressing the nape of his neck as he tilted his head, a puzzled expression crossing his face. Tony backed away.

"I can't, I'm sorry. I just can't" but he moved closer again, his lips inches from Loki's as he searched for reassurance in his eyes, telling him the new experience was okay, that Tony had nothing to fear. Tony's lips moved closer, millimetres from Loki's parted mouth.

"I'm just going to go think about this, alright?" Loki closed the space between them, biting Stark's upper lip before locking his lips ferociously around Tony's. Tony was melting into Loki; he could hardly drag himself away from the euphoria coursing through his body as the other man's tongue ran across the back of his teeth.

"Okay, Dasher, gotta go!" Tony was close to the edge, Loki had barely laid a hand on him and he was about to lose it. He turned back on his way out to look back at Loki; he'd never seen anyone look so confused in his life. If the circumstances had been any different, the expression on the usually emotionally inept god's face would've been priceless.

Loki knew Tony wanted him, his desire wasn't only plainly expressed on his face but it was pressed against his leg the whole time Stark had been against him. He left his room, leather pants still wrapped tightly around his legs, revealing exactly the same thing Tony had attempted to hide beforehand. Loki stood outside Tony's door. Could he hear moaning? Was Stark in pain? No. Loki smiled manically; he liked nothing better than knowing that someone desperately wanted him.

"Stark. I'm undoing the top of my boots and sliding them off my feet and calves…there's nothing but leather wrapped around my legs. My hands want you, Stark. Imagine your fingers running across my skin as mine are now, entwined with my hair, pulling at it as my fingers are dragged down your back rather than into my own pants. Imagine my tongue exploring your body, my teeth ripping down your pants, Stark." Loki's eyes closed as his head tilted back and leant against the wall behind him, he raised a bare foot against the wall to support himself. He could hear more groaning from behind the door, Tony was listening and his hands were moving further into his pants, wrapping around the part of him begging for Tony.

"I'm hard for you, Stark. Won't you let me in?"

Tony was listening to the god's smooth voice; his imagination running ramped with the images his ears were being fed by Loki's silver tongue. The things he must be able to do with that tongue. Tony had stripped; he didn't want anything touching him except Loki's long fingers, any part of him that would roam over his body. He could barely hold himself back from opening the door and dragging the leather clad god into his lap, into his bed, into him.

"Tony…" Loki's voice growled through the door, through all thought of reason in Tony's mind. The door swung open, Loki's senses were clearly still fine-tuned to movements around him and Tony had been just behind the door. His hands gripped the shorter man's arms with force and pushed him further into the dark room, past the bed, past a desk and into a (closed) window.

"Wow, wow, wow what's going on with the window thing?" Tony's hands were flat against the glass as if he was bracing himself for an imminent fall.

"Quiet, Stark. I hardly think I would've stood outside your door for ten minutes pleasuring myself to thoughts of your naked body wrapped around mine if my goal had been to kill you." Although Tony knew Loki probably shouldn't be trusted, he let his worries go as slender fingers tenderly brushed up his thigh, moving higher and higher until Loki's fingers were wrapped around Tony's impressive package, each hand moving in a different direction and twisting with each pump. Tony was so close when he felt the god's weight move and his head began to lower, his knees bending as he knelt before the shorter man. Tony's hands wove through the black mess of hair in front of them and as Loki's tongue began to flick at his tip, he pulled hard. Loki took more of Tony in his mouth, his silver tongue working its human magic over Tony's flesh. He felt a finger enter him, he hadn't even noticed but it felt good as it massaged the inside of his body and slowly another finger was entered alongside the other that continued its pleasing ritual to send Tony over the edge.

"My…GOD…Loki, don't you stop" Tony was panting as sweat beaded on his forehead, he pulled Loki's hair as his muscles went into uncontrollable spasms, his legs would've buckled if Loki's hand hadn't been between his legs to support him, his sweating palms losing their grip on the window.

Loki had already managed to wriggle out of his own pants so they were around his ankles as he knelt before Stark. His spare hand ran down his own chest, tracing the lines of his pectoral muscles before redrawing the sculpted lines of his abs on the way down to his own crotch. He took himself in his hand and wrapped his fingers around it strongly, his thumb rubbing the tip as the rest of his fingers set their own rhythmic pace and Loki began to match Tony's level of elation, determined to come with Stark. Tony's hands had curled into fists and he was banging at the window behind him, Loki was almost afraid he'd break through the glass but Tony wasn't as he moaned, thrusting his hips forward, Loki's mouth taking more of him in. Loki's eyes had closed, his teeth were bared as his lips curled up sheer pleasure and he started saying something, it definitely wasn't in English, Tony was sure of that but the vibrations sent Tony spilling into the mouth of the god knelt before him, the foreign language stopped as Loki took in Stark but a pleasured hum continued as Loki kept his personal bet and timed himself with Tony perfectly.

Both of Loki's hands dropped to his side as Tony knelt before him, his rough hands formed over many years of work in the lab were gently stroking Loki's thighs as he leaned closer to Loki's face.

"I wouldn't have to think about it next time, promise."

"And what makes you so confident there will be a next time, Stark?"

"Other than the fact you stood outside my door pleasuring yourself to thoughts of my naked body for a good ten minutes…Not much" Tony grinned, mainly at the idea of the promiscuous god in front of him but also because he wasn't entirely sure he wasn't about to be thrown out the window. "You can sleep with me tonight, you know, if you want and you aren't going to stab me or anything" Tony wouldn't have minded someone to sleep next to, especially not Loki.

"I'll take it into consideration" Loki bared his teeth in a stunning smile; this was going to be an interesting stay with Tony Stark.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the delay between updates! I hope this chapter doesn't drag on and get too boring for you but above all, I hope you enjoy reading it :) thank you for all the lovely reviews and alerts I've been receiving, I cannot express my gratitude in written words! Keep them coming! **

"Rise and shine, pretty boy!" Tony jabbed at Loki who'd passed out on the floor during the early hours of the morning as they spoke. Tony rolled out of bed pulling on the closest item of clothing he could find and walked around to where Loki was still lying on the floor and rolled him over onto his back with his foot.

"C'mon, can't stay here all day. We have things to do." Loki groaned from his spot on the floor; his head felt like it was about to explode and waves of nausea swept over him with every movement. He'd expected this to happen after his powers were stripped, the feelings similar to a Midgardian hangover except due to a lack of his magic not overindulgence in some beverage. He scoffed at his own weakness, almost ashamed and sat up, his head spinning and willing him to lie back down.

"You're not looking too great, dasher." Tony looked wearily at the god sitting on the floor swaying slightly as his skin graduated from a usually impeccable white to a sickly shade of grey. "Alright we're moving you; I'm not too excited by the idea of cleaning your vomit out of my carpet." He was slightly worried about the sickly man in front of him but the thought of soiled white carpet absolutely terrified him. Tony wrapped an arm around Loki's waist and hoisted him up, walking him out of the room and over to the bar again so he could sit on a bar stool.

"If you're planning on throwing up, go for it." Loki had slumped over the bar, the cold stone top cooling his burning forehead.

"I assure you, I'm fine, Stark." His voiced hissed in annoyance but his body betrayed him. He sat bolt upright, eyes widened before he leant over retching.

"Sure you're fine, pretty boy. Just let me know when you're done there." Tony lent over the counter to observe the damage. "Wouldn't like to see you with a real hangover, that's for sure." Loki sat up again looking defeated but some of the colour had returned to his face and he looked much less volatile than he had when he'd woken up.

"You said you had plans, Stark?" Loki's voice still sounded coarse but Tony was relieved that his tone had softened from the one that was tearing him to shreds beforehand.

"Yep. We're going suit shopping for you, can't have you parading around here in that leather getup…As much as I might enjoy it." He looked the God up and down, eyebrows rising as he relived memories of the previous night. Loki's eyes narrowed, an eye brow shooting up as his mouth dropped open and he shook his head frivolously at Stark.

"Have you lost your mind, Stark?" It was more of a statement than a question as his voice raised an octave in astonishment. "At least I can parade around here in whatever I please without being recognised and for all we know, attacked on the street by the other filthy mortals!" His hands gesturing wildly to the street below as he stood up quickly. Not such as good idea. Tony stepped forward, placing a hand on Loki's chest to steady him as the God broke out in a sweat, his skin becoming flushed.

"First thing's first, you need a bath. At least you can sit down there and won't reek afterwards." Loki shot a murderous look at Stark, he didn't appreciate the insult but he did mutter faint agreement under his breath.

The lukewarm water of the tub was soothing on Loki's burning skin without unintentionally lowering his body temperature. He lay with his head against the wall of the bath, looking at Stark in the corner who was clearly feeling slightly frustrated by the perfect, naked, wet figure in front of him as he turned away to recollect his thoughts.

"How're you feeling?" Tony was leaning against the sink counter as his eyes looked everywhere in the room but Loki's direction.

"My head no longer feels as though there are a million bolts of lightning hitting it simultaneously so I'd take that as a sign of good fortune." Stark looked directly at him now, he still hadn't gotten used to his tendency to complicate the answers to reasonably simple questions.

"Well, that's good to know then." Tony was about to walk out of the room to find the God some clothes when said now mortal man stood up to get out of the bath. Stark's jaw all but hit the white tiled floor, stopping him in his tracks. "I'm just gonna…Um…" He pointed to the door "you know…Uh…Clothes. Yeah." Tony averted his eyes once more and quickly left the room, closing the door gently behind him before leaning back on it. "How on Earth..." His eyes widened in disbelief at what he'd just seen, oh wait. He remembered and almost laughed at his own unintentional pun. He strolled across to the other side of the room where his walk in wardrobe opened up into a momentous collection of suits lining two walls. Most of them wouldn't fit the taller man but he knew he had at least one untailored one lying around somewhere and he wasn't prepared to part with any of the rest of them and get them tailored to fit the God. He wondered down to the back of the spacious closet and found one with much longer pants and sleeve; he nodded to himself "this'll do."

Loki walked out of the bathroom; towel draped around his wet figure and surveyed the room he'd stepped into. There was a black suit lying on the bed, it wasn't a full business suit and looked casual enough to be worn during the day without attending some kind of important conference. He continued to eye off the Midgardian clothing as he reached into the bedside drawer Stark had mentioned about containing underwear. He dropped his towel and gave a frustrated sigh, he hated wearing the clothing of other realms, and it was nowhere near as form fitting and well-crafted as his Asgardian attire. The God pulled on the black button up shirt Stark had left him and tightened a black leather belt around his waist to secure his black pants. Loki looked down at where the shirt had been and snickered, Tony had left him a dark green tie. Once the tie was fastened loosely around his neck, Loki put on the leather jacket Stark had left him and pulled on his own boots, moving over to the door. He could feel annoyance prickling at his skin already; no doubt Stark would have some snide remark about his new clothing.

Tony took the final sip of his morning glass of scotch and turned around as he heard the door opening to the living room. The dark haired man actually looked like a normal human being for once, a ridiculously attractive human being but he could walk down the street without attracting the looks his usual leather frock would. Although, those pants where quite flattering on his long legs so he might be attracting some different attention. Tony laughed to himself but made a feeble attempt at composing himself when he saw Loki glowering at him.

"By the nine, Stark, this isn't humorous in the slightest." High levels of annoyance and frustration where clearly present in Loki's voice and was that a hint of embarrassment?

"No, no you're right. Anyway, I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing at me. Even my thoughts are hilarious; I know; you're not surprised." Tony grinned at the God rolling his eyes standing by the door.

"Of all the words to describe your thoughts, Stark, hilarious wouldn't have been my first choice."

"Brilliant? Impressive? Glorious? All of the above?"

"Can we just get this over with, Stark?" Tony was still grinning madly behind his bar but nodded his head and moved to the door, gesturing for Loki to follow him out.

The pair found themselves in Ralph Lauren, Tony was sure Loki wouldn't pick up on the logo reference and planned on providing himself with constant amusement if he ever saw him wearing anything they bought again. Tony walked around the store, mindful that Loki had probably never been shopping like this before, more so that he'd probably never been shopping full stop. On his rounds, he'd collected a dark pair of pleated wool pants, a slim fitting dress shirt and an extravagantly priced black coat with a large collar; perfect, he thought to himself. Looking around, he found Loki staring intently at one of the posters for the Polo range featuring a rather gallant looking horse and rider. Tony just smirked, there was no way he was checking out the horse…right? He shook his head and walked over.

"I was going to get you to try these things on but I think that would be a task in itself so I won't bother and anyway, it won't exactly take a dent out of the budget." He handed the clothes to Loki, "what do you think?"

"They'll serve for now, Stark." Loki almost turned his nose up at the expensive clothing he held in his hands and began to walk towards the door to leave.

"Woah, Woah, Woah, Blitzen. Where do you think you're going?" Tony grabbed Loki by the arm and quickly spun him around on the spot, a security guard eyeing them suspiciously by the door.

"We have what we came for, now we're leaving." Loki responded very matter of factly but his voice rose slightly at the end of the sentence, indicating he wasn't entirely sure of his intentions now.

"Yeah, still not sure how you lot do it in fairyland but here, we have to pay for things." Tony took the clothing back from Loki and walked towards the counter, the god trailing behind him with a confused look on his face.

"I don't believe fairies reside on Asgard, Stark. Alfheim, maybe." Tony rolled his eyes as he continued walking towards the counter.

The clothes were paid for and Tony carried them out in a dark blue box, a gold label printed onto the surface of the lid and slightly obscured by the royal blue ribbon securing both pieces of the box together. Tony's eye caught another store across the other side of the street.

"Wait here a second will you." He shoved the box at Loki and proceeded to cross the street into the store, coming out moments later with another much smaller box. "I think this could come in useful." He opened the box and pulled out a brand new phone, the shiny black screen glinting in the sunlight. "Don't worry, I'll teach you how to use it." The God was giving him a questioning look, almost as if he doubted the sanity of the man holding a shiny piece of metal claiming it could bring some kind of unparalled benefit to his life but was distracted by Stark now holding open the door to his car that had just pulled up by the sidewalk beside them.

Tony chucked the box on the bar as he walked back into his spacious living room and sat on the couch, patting the pillow next to him for Loki to join him as he pulled the phone from his pocket and turned it on.

"Okay, this is your phone, I'm going to put my number in it and if you need anything for any reason, you're going to call me if I'm not around. You can send me messages too but for the love of god, don't text me to tell me you're dying or the building's burning down or something. That's when you call." He unlocked the phone and explained calling and texting to the technologically challenged god sitting next to him and stood up, handing Loki the phone. "I'm going into the basement to work for a bit and if you need anything, I mean anything because you're probably going to break something, I want you to call me." Stark got up off the couch and walked towards the door before calling from behind the door "by the way I'm locking you in!" His voice trailing off as he walked down the hallway. Loki was still sitting on the couch; he didn't know what to do with himself until the corners of his lips curled up into a wicked smile.

Tony was concentrating intently on the design he was working on for the next model of his suit when he heard his phone buzzing on the desk next to him. Expecting an illegible jumble of letters from Loki trying to get used to the keypad his eyebrows shot up…He hadn't even taught him how to message pictures!


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: my immense apologies on such a late update! I hope you're not getting too bored with the story and as always, thank you for reading! - Zooey :)**

Loki paced the length of the floor to ceiling window in Stark's bedroom. He'd thrown his phone down on the bed as he grew tired of the device and was struggling to entertain himself without his powers, bound to the boredom of his mortal form. The dark haired God looked around the room noticing how Tony was reflected perfectly in the controlled mess of the large space, one corner of his mouth turned up into a small smirk. Of all the mortals Loki had been forced to endure the unfortunate company of, he minded Stark the least. His smirk crept into a little smile as thin lines appeared beside his eyes as his lips continued to turn up further. Loki's pacing turned into steps of curiosity as he explored the rest of the room, opening up cupboards and drawers before rifling around in them; he was sure Stark wouldn't keep anything confidential in them; he was too secretive to make such a slip up.

Tony Stark was deep in thought as he looked over the blueprints he'd drawn up for his new suit; anything to distract him from his mind wandering to memories of last night and the man who was upstairs in his private level. He sighed heavily before flicking his fingers over the screen in front of him to clear it of his pattern and lay his head on his folded arms, resting on his work bench. Curiosity plagued at the corner of his mind as he wondered what his little encounter with Loki the other night had meant to the God, did he understand the concept of a one night stand? Did they even have those on Asgard? A sudden wave of regret flowed over his body as he closed his eyes and exhaled, he thought the tall God was attractive, of that he was certain but he felt no feelings towards Loki; he'd been presented to him at an opportune moment and Tony had taken the little gift of relief he was given.

"Dammit, Tony…" His voice was a harsh hiss as he brought a flat hand down on the bench, the slap of the metal against his skin echoing throughout the basement. "Couldn't you just think for once?" He rolled his eyes as he sat up and leant back in his chair, his arms dangling limply by his side as he stared at the blank, opaque blue screen in front of him. "You're lucky he doesn't have his powers, he'd probably kill y-" Tony cut himself off, partly because he was talking to himself and partly because his eyes had widened in slight horror at the thought. He shook it away and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands, anyway, he didn't know whether or not Loki felt the same, he could be worrying over nothing.

By the time Tony made his way back up to his private level of the Tower it was late evening. The billionaire walked into the lounge room as he exited the elevator to find Loki transfixed by the roof.

"Stark, there is a sentient being dwelling in your roof space."-The God craned his neck and squinted his eyes occasionally as he inspected light fixtures and air conditioning vents- "believe me, it spoke!" Tony looked at the tall man, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes wide, his lips pursed together as his fingers lay on them, trying to supress a laugh before he walked closer to the God currently mesmerized by the ceiling.

"It's called JARVIS, Loki. He looks after the place, you know? Kind of like a butler…just more intelligent." Tony shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the bar, pouring himself a small class of Scotch. "Want some?" He pointed the bottle at Loki who considered for a moment before nodding his head slightly in acceptance. Loki moved over to the bar, the height difference between both of them was still striking, even with the bar wedged between them. The God watched the man over the rim of his glass intently as he downed his Scotch.

Tony frowned slightly when he noticed the interest Loki seemed to find with him. "What?" His voice was sharp though not enough to give away any of the thoughts racing through his head; he was sure Loki wouldn't take offense. Loki raised an eyebrow at the shorter man, lowering his glass.

"Nothing, Stark. I was merely observing your habits." His voice was equally as snide as Tony's had been in response. The mortal man shot the God as odd look across the bar.

"Okay…Loki, here's another one of my habits." Tony was going to have to phrase his words carefully, although, Loki was powerless so he wasn't going to be able to kill him just yet. "You know what happened last night?" He nodded his head slowly while he checked that Loki was following, "that didn't mean anything, right?" He turned around to fetch another bottle of alcohol.

If Tony Stark had been watching, he would've seen how Loki's eyebrows knitted together, his lips opened slightly in protest and his eyes widened in disbelief before he recomposed his features into their usual perfect, undisturbed mask.

"Of course not." Loki pushed his glass forward to be filled once again and drank its entire contents once it had been refilled, seating himself on a barstool across from Stark. He looked entirely undisturbed by Stark's words, though inside he felt colder than his own blue Jotun skin, he'd somewhat enjoyed the company of the mortal. Loki shrugged off his thoughts lightly; hardly a noticeable movement would've been spotted in his demeanour.

JARVIS' artificial voice suddenly interrupted the thoughts of both men as it sounded throughout the level. "Master Stark, the Avengers have arrived in the tower. There's been an incident with the Chitauri." The robotic voice held no foreboding tone that a human voice would possess; unaware of the impact the words would have on the occupants of the penthouse. "They are currently on their way up in the elevator." Neither Loki nor Tony had any time to react, to prepare for the oncoming confrontation that would no doubt end badly. Tony's voice barked,

"Is Thor with them, Jarvis?" He knew it was unlikely the other God told the team about Loki's little visit but he was slightly reassured when JARVIS confirmed the deity's presence. Tony wheeled around as he heard the elevator slowly approaching their level, it was only seconds away from coming to a complete stop, the doors opening the powerless God sitting across the bar to two vengeful assassins, a man prone to barely controllable and frankly frightening outbursts of anger, a super soldier burning over the death of his biggest fan and friend as well as Loki's overbearing older brother. Tony muttered under his breath just as the doors opened, "great…"

The doors slid open quietly, Tony almost got his hopes up that Thor had mentioned Loki being in the tower until just under two seconds passed and sick realization splashed across every Avenger's face as they laid eyes upon the God hell bent on killing them only a short time ago. Everyone almost immediately sprang into action. Natasha dived out of the elevator, taking refuge behind a couch, her profile lowered as she aimed her weapon directly at Loki's head for the brief time he was standing before Captain America lunged at his waist, knocking both of them to the ground while Hawkeye trained an arrow on the now pinned God. Bruce Banner stayed back in the elevator; he wasn't willing to risk destroying yet another level of Stark Tower, especially considering it'd just been renovated after their last run in with the God of Mischief. Thor however, unlike the rest of his allies, moved in front of Loki and the Captain on the floor, brandishing Mjolnir defensively, "you will unhand my brother, patriotic one" his voice boomed throughout the entire room, bringing the action to an almost immediate halt. Loki glared at Thor, more enraged by his comment than the onslaught set against him by the Avengers. He spat at him as his chest was all but crushed by the man on top of him, holding him down, "I am not your brother, T hor." His eyes never left the blonde God's face, spiked with blind rage.

Steve Rogers looked between the two brothers, both of them looked furious though the one standing in front of him was staring directly at him unlike the one below him. Captain America got up, dragging Loki up by the front of his shirt and turning him around, pinning the God's arms against his own back to stop him from struggling…But Loki made no attempt to struggle, he didn't even try and push the Soldier from his body when he was on the floor. Steve frowned in confusion before turning to Tony, God still in hand, his expression a mix of accusation and questioning.

"I didn't think you were serious when you offered him that drink, Tony." The Captain almost sounded hurt at the betrayal, his face contorting even more when Tony merely shrugged and nodded slightly.

Natasha and Clint were talking between themselves, their eyes each still watching Loki closely in case he made a move, "Fury's already on his way…" Clint muttered to the red head, Natasha nodded in approval. "What's he doing up here, Tony?" Her voice was cold and hard.

Tony looked at Thor, raising his eyebrows only to be greeted by a stern look and shake of the head from the other God, looked like he was on his own. "He's doing exactly what it looks like, having a drink." His voice was light but Natasha's came back in sharp contrast, "he's lead the Chitauri straight back to us. They were looking for him, Tony." She turned her attention to Thor, the tone of her voice unrelenting. "How did he even -" she was cut off by the opening of the elevator doors.

Nick Fury stepped calmly out of the elevator, looking directly at Steve Rogers who had the God bound by the arms. "I want him locked up, now." Captain America nodded.

Loki's eyes were bolted to the floor as he was taken to the elevator. This time he lacked confidence, he was weak, powerless and entirely at the mercy of the Director and his team. His concentration on the steps in front of him was unwavering until he was turned around in the lift and his eyes were raised, meeting Stark's. Loki's eyes were unyielding, he would beg for no mercy but Stark was to be his protector. He failed and the doors closed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's**** note: I am so sorry for the late update! But if you've stuck around this long I can't thank you enough and there is also a Clintasha fic on the way for anyone who happens to be interested :) keep the reviews coming, it's lovely to hear feedback from anyone! Hope you enjoy and more to come, promise! **

Loki's legs were crossed in front of him; he lacked the strength to stand after two days of enduring the relentless questioning of Nick Fury, the redheaded woman had even tried to weasel information from his mind but this time Loki knew their play. What they didn't know was that he didn't remember anything from his time under the influence of the Tesseract though it did amuse him that they hadn't taken the hint from Clint Barton who hadn't remembered anything either. Loki's green-blue eyes flickered to the door as he heard it slide open, expecting to see the long leather coat of the Director and the legs of the archer's partner. Loki, however, was greeted by a much different sight as a pair of large, familiar boots strode into his line of vision. The dark haired man grimaced almost immediately, seething with rage at the abomination that had just entered his cell.

"Brother, I-" Thor hadn't chosen the best way to start a conversation with the man he'd grown up with his entire life as Loki's voice cut through the air.

"I am not your brother, Thor!" The God was standing now; he would not allow himself to be lower than the blonde in any way, shape or form. Not now. "When asking something in the future, Thor, I suggest you try a more diplomatic approach." He looked the blonde up and down, sneering, "though words never were your strong point."

Thor dismissed his brother's taunts with a frustrated roll of his blue eyes, "I've come to offer you a bargain." He knew Loki would not like either of the options he was to be presented with and swallowed hard before taking a step towards the other God, only to have Loki step back further. "There are a number Chitauri weapons stranded on Midgard, we ask you to help us return them into the possession of S.H.I.E.L.D and you will be allowed to return to the metal man's care." Thor raised his eyebrows, feeling slightly hopeful as Loki's expression hadn't changed.

"Or?"

"Or…" Thor had been hoping his brother would not have wanted to know his other choice, "or you are to return to Asgard with me once more to be banished to Hel." The God's voice sounded defeated as he offered Loki his second choice, "The Midgardians do not want you in their realm." Thor was shocked when he looked up to find Loki standing no more than a foot in front of him, a devilish smirk across his face and his eyes narrowed.

"I have no reason to stay on Midgard, Thor and a lifetime spend with my daughter is no punishment in my eyes." Loki scoffed; moving slightly closer, "your bargaining skills are weak" though his face contorted into something of shock and realization once the other man continued to speak.

"You will be sent as a mortal and sentenced once you've lived your few years, Loki." His brother wouldn't last long as the beasts of Hel roamed throughout the realm, Loki's pain would be insufferable for some meagre months before he perished. Thor turned around, "I will ask your decision later in the day." The God proceeded to walk out of the cell but stopped just before getting in the elevator, speaking softly as he turned his head in a last ditch attempt to sway his brother's thinking. "The Man of Iron longs for you." Thor entered the elevator and the doors closed behind him, leaving Loki to dwell with his thoughts and now gaping mouth, only to mutter a faint, "what?"

Tony was eagerly awaiting Thor's arrival back upstairs, fiddling with the ice dispenser on the front of the fridge until he heard the elevator door opening. The blonde God stepped out only to be overwhelmed with Tony's presence a foot or so in front of him, "what did he say? Is he going to help?" Tony sounded anxious but Thor placed his big hands on the man's much smaller shoulders, "calm yourself, metal man." He'd stopped Tony pacing and shifting his weight over his feet as he pressed down lightly on his shoulders, raising his eyebrows expectantly until the shorter man nodded, confirming he'd stop his moving.

"Loki did not agree to help us-" Thor was cut off by Tony who'd started moving about again only to stop once Thor's blue eyes held his gaze expectantly, "my brother did not make a decision, I said I would return in the evening." The God looked around, "where are the others?"

"Natasha and Clint are in the range, Cap's locating all the weapons and Bruce is down in the lab…" He frowned, "I should be down in the lab." Tony walked past Thor who made no move to stop the man from going to join the Doctor downstairs as he shrugged his shoulders, walking over to the kitchen cupboard only to rummage through its entire contents; Clint said he'd hid the "tarts of pop" in the kitchen for Thor to find.

Tony ignored the clattering in the kitchen behind him and knew he should've been down in the labs helping Bruce find a way to contain the remnants of energy powering the alien technology but the billionaire found himself down in the holding cells of the tower, staring at the back of the God of Lies.

"Loki…Listen, will you turn around, please?" Tony had a hand pressed against the glass as he leant against it, eyes fixated on the shoulder blades of the man in front of him only to be silenced as a pale white finger was raised above the dark haired man's head.

"Can you not see I am thinking, Stark?" Loki's voice was flat and entirely uninviting to the man standing less than a metre from him. The inventor felt a slight pang as Loki reverted back to calling him by his last name and mumbled something along the lines of "do you even have first names in Asgard?" Before he seated himself behind the thick, shatter proof glass of the cell, forehead resting on its cool surface.

"Just looks like you're sitting there to me." Tony had finally earned the eye contact of the God who wheeled around only to glare at him before scoffing, "excellent observation skills you've developed." Loki tipped his head courteously before rolling his eyes and turning back around. Tony quickly figured out that a two sided conversation was out of the question so talked himself.

"Princess," he waited for a reaction from Loki but wasn't given even a hint of attention from the God, "I was thinking about the other night, about what happened" he sighed, he couldn't bring himself to tell Loki he was important, that thoughts of the man with long black hair had ran through his mind since he'd been torn from his protection, that he worried and not only worried but cared for him. "Don't let that influence your decision; it doesn't make a difference to me. I just need you to help us, we don't know what we're dealing with here and some more or less expert opinion would help us out." He knew Loki wasn't looking at him and rubbed away the tiny trickle of water coming from the corner of his eye as he forced himself away from his weakness for the dashing God. "Once you help us, I'll let you go." Loki's attention was finally caught.

"And you expect me to believe this? Are you as flimsy with your promises as you are with your affection?" The God's words were laced with bitter venom as they slide between his lips.

"You're just going to have to trust me." Tony had stood up while Loki's icy words froze against his skin.

"Trust you as I trusted Thor? The ones who call themselves my family? Am I to trust you, Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist to keep a promise of my freedom when he cannot keep one to protect me, to have heart for me?" The God was standing against the glass as Tony was though still towered over the man who was safely protected on the other side, "you cast me aside once my purpose was fulfilled, when you were done having me as your plaything." He scoffed, "though you are offering me my freedom…to be rid of me." Loki nodded his head slowly, "yes, your responsibility mitigated." He chuckled darkly before slamming his fists against the thick glass pane, "your spin is useless, Stark." Loki finally backed away from the glass though the tormented expression on his face had been replaced by one of pain, "I will accept your offer and I will leave your care immediately." He swallowed, "open the door."

Tony looked back at Loki in utter shock, he hadn't expected the God to come to their aid and he had not expected to be confronted with Loki's harrowing expressions, he looked like an abandoned puppy. A deadly abandoned puppy but something that should be loved and never had been. Tony opened the door and Loki walked straight past him without sparing him a fleeting glace. The shorter man reached his hand to take the God's as he walked past but Loki quickly and deliberately pulled his own away, continuing towards the elevator to await Tony's directions.

Not an hour later, the team found themselves on the streets of New York, side alleys being cornered off for "government business" and even some entire buildings. They had each been assigned pairs, it would be quicker that way; the two master assassins, Thor and Cap and Tony and Loki. Bruce had opted to stay back and guide the team over the comms system. New York didn't need any more Hulk-style decorating to be done. Natasha and Clint were still locating their target while Thor and Steve were boxing their own when Tony and Loki came upon their site. Both agents who had been watching the entrance to the alley lay dead against the brick buildings each side, bloody marks running down the walls behind them.

"What the…" Tony had been too busy pondering the deaths of the men to notice a blue flash emanating from the alley and heading straight towards him. The next thing he knew he was on the ground, the smell of singed hair burning his nostrils as he turned around to see Loki buckled over on the sidewalk, a huge burn mark on the front of his clothing where he'd been hit and the God was bleeding but Tony's attention wasn't fixed on the bloody abdomen of the God or the youth holding the foreign weapon but the bright blue eyes Loki was staring at him with. They looked all too familiar.


End file.
